As Wonder Woman continues to dominate the big screen, girls all over the world are watching her on computer screens as they learn a 21st century superpower — coding.
“Wonder Woman’s strength is more relevant today than ever, especially in the technology space, since girls are less likely than boys to be encouraged to pursue computer science and only 22 percent of gaming developers are women,” Google Play’s Mathilde Cohen Solal wrote in a blog post. Made with Code, Google’s initiative to champion the next generation of female leaders and inspire them to see coding as a way to pursue their dreams, released an interactive coding project for teen girls to add coding to their superpower toolkit.
The project, presented in the form of a game, is a collaboration between Google Play, Made with Code and Warner Bros. “Teen girls can code three unique scenes from the film, using introductory coding principles to help Wonder Woman navigate obstacles and reach her goal,” Solal explained. “We hope Wonder Woman’s message of empowerment inspires teen girls, and women, to build confidence in pursuing careers in computer science, engineering, gaming — or whatever their dreams may be.”
In addition to Made with Code’s free online coding project, Google Fiber is offering a free Wonder Woman coding party June 22 in Kansas City. DIY projects are planned and aimed for teenage girls.
“Code touches every part of the world — and, no matter what you want to be when you grow up, code and computer science skills can help you get there,” according to Google Fiber’s coding party announcement. “Join us for a fun intro on how to get started using code to build a better world. At the party, you will: start fun coding projects, such as creating a message of empowerment, animating scenes from Disney Pixar’s ‘Inside Out,’ and using coding principles to help Wonder Woman navigate through different scenes of the new movie!…Have fun in Wonder Woman style while exploring how computer science skills can help you pursue your interests.”
Those attending the party will hear from a Google software engineer on how her tech career allows her to create a better future.
In California, the Discovery Cube of Santa Ana tonight is hosting a free “Raspberry Jam,” a learn-to-code event for girls and boys and their families.
Such events, online and in person, promote connected learning, which is when someone is pursuing a personal interest with the support of peers, mentors and caring adults, and in ways that open up opportunities for them.
Editor’s note: Watchworthy Wednesday posts highlight interesting resources and appear in DML Central every Wednesday. Any tips for future posts are welcome. Please comment below or send email to mcruz@hri.uci.edu.
